Infected
by MangoGrape
Summary: GLaDOS brings Wheatley back, expecting to give him a taste of revenge. However, it appears he's been struck by something awful... but what is it?
1. Welcome Home

It had been too long. Much, _much _too long. The moron had been stranded in space for a two years now. It was time She finally acted out true revenge upon that moron. He had ruined Her beautiful facility, torn Her out of her own mainframe and stripped Her of everything she held dear. Oh, and most importantly, dressed Her up in a dirtied potato sack. What had the point been anyway? Humiliation, most likely. But why a potato?

GLaDOS shook Her head. No matter, She could ponder the subject all She wanted later on. At the moment She was as busy as a bee making preparations for his return. In fact, She had just finished.

An orange portal opened up on the floor below Her, which she had just recently coated with gooey conversion gel. Upon the window to space being opened, a strong vacuum like suction pulled many of the light weight objects around Her into its grasp. But why was She to care? She could always rebuild later.

A large metal claw descended from the ceiling, going lower and lower and lower still, until it stopped, grasping something buried in the depths of space. GlaDOS smiled, hearing a very audible scream from Her claw's prey.

GLaDOS grinned, dragging Her tongue across Her bright, white teeth. She could almost taste the sweet sugary goodness of her revenge. Oh, how She longed to rip every single one of the wires in his circuitry out of that little idiot's body and emancipate his remains. Every little bit of Her was screaming yes but she knew better. No, no, it would ruin everything were She to simply mash him up right there. Truly it would be more of a reward than a punishment. She was going to make him really pay for his sins. What would She do first? Humiliate him? Yes, that was the first step. But then what? The possibilities were endless, really. She could painfully disassemble him and then reassemble him, this cycle continuing on for all eternity. Or maybe he could be Her new test subject! It was all up to Her.

With a great, big thrust the claw drew out a terrified Wheatley and the portal closed. His mouth hung slack with shock as he stared into the elderly woman's cold, dead eyes. Her face wasn't angry, nor that of a homicidal maniac. No, it was much... calmer. She smiled in such a subtle and gentle way that it was what made the whole experience most awful.

"Hello, and welcome back to Aperture Science." GLaDOS said. A small chuckle escaped her elderly lips. "I've been waiting for you, moron.".


	2. VIRUS DETECTED

**The albino woman paced back and forth, not speaking a word. The dead silence that filled Her chamber was much like a sharpened knife piercing through soft, delicate skin. **

"I've thought about what to do with you once you returned . Frankly I'm still not sure what exactly to do about it." GLaDOS admitted. She looked towards the ceiling, scratching her chin. "But then I thought that perhaps it would serve one of both of us well if-".

Before She could continue, a shriek interrupted her. The android under her power squirmed and writhed in his trap, desperate to get out. She had expected this. However, it was much more satisfying in her head. This was just plain annoying.

"Stop that at once. You're being much too dramatic." GLaDOS said. This only further encouraged his resistance.

"No! No, no, no! I won't let you get me! I don't want to end up like him!" The brunette squealed. The elderly woman cocked her head in confusion. Him? Whom did that refer to? She hadn't done much killing in a while, actually.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" he cried. Clearly his time spent in space had had a horrendous effect on his memory. There was nobody to help him. No scientists or test subjects. They were long dead. However, GLaDOS was starting to have suspicions. Perhaps this wasn't normal fear. Had he been corrupted? No, something far worse. Wait, she'd seen this somewhere before.

"Oh my God." She said aloud. "He's got a virus!". A sly grin stretched across the android's face. Several cords whipped out from behind her and latched onto Wheatley. The material binding him prevented and further kicking or screaming.

"I think I've just found an adequate punishment for you." GLaDOS hissed. Wheatley's pupils dilated in fear of what could come next. Suddenly he dropped. She had... released him? A door slid open across the room and he was out of there.

GLaDOS chuckled as he bolted across the room. Oh, she would enjoy this.


	3. Arachnophobia

Wheatley came speeding by, passing panel after panel. Vines of black swallowed their previous white form and chased him relentlessly. Screaming surrounded him as he made his way to somewhere, anywhere at all where he could be safe. Gears ground into each other furiously within him, this excess activity forcing them to work overtime. Surely if he possessed one his heart would be beating as hard as possible.

Just as he swore he could feel his systems overheating, he spotted what could have been a temporary shelter. A panel in the wall was moved out of place, just so much so that he could squeeze inside to hide himself. He dove towards the safety of the hole in the wall, inching his way inside. An even greater stroke of luck was that a weighted storage cube was stranded inside with him. With a great heave-an unnecessary amount of force indeed- the brunette pushed the cube in front of the hole, blocking off the entrance from whatever insane thing had been chasing him.

Wheatley threw himself against the wall in relief, slumping down towards the floor. If he had the means to he would have given the most grateful sigh in a long time. Surely it would have gone down in history as the greatest sigh to ever have been sighed.

'Alright, so this whole mess just got a _lot _messier.' Wheatley thought to himself. 'Now not only have I got these monstrosities chasing after me, but now I'm trapped in this blasted facility again.'. He decided to ignore the fact that an elderly lunatic was probably going to kill him in the near future. Looking to the left, the Brit spotted something he hadn't in his previous panic.

Hues of browns and oranges occupied the wall to the side of him. Drips and smears of paint clashed together in just the right ways, creating a beautiful painting. The colors took on the form of a woman, one of whom he was much too familiar with.

"Chell..." He whispered aloud. Perhaps this was it. Maybe this was his punishment. He had betrayed who was really the only friend he ever had. He remembered the look on her face and it delivered a sharp pain to his emotional receptors. The vast seas of sadness occupying her grey eyes accompanied by the pain swelling in her dirty face. It was in that moment, the moment She sent him into space that he realized why she never spoke. Betrayal.

This thought was interrupted by a tickling on his arm. Looking down, Wheatley caught sight of a spider crawling up his leg. Flicking it away nonchalantly, he went back to thinking. However, another spider quickly appeared in its place. Or perhaps it was the same spider. Oh, wait, no, there were two now. Then three. Then four. And in that moment all of Hell broke loose.

Arachnids of all shapes and sizes skittered out from between the panels, overwhelming the room until every wall around him became black with the things. They came in hoards, hungering for meat. Of course he had none to offer but they took what they could.

They swarmed him at his feet, practically gluing them to the floor. Then they took his legs, crawling up and inside his pants. Then his torso, then his arms and finally his face. Spiders overtook Wheatley's small frame until his screams were muffled by arachnids flooding his throat. He shook with pain and fear, jerking about as little nips were tattooed onto his make shift skin and in turn burned off by large amounts of acidic saliva.

[SYSTEM OVERLOAD]

[SYSTEM OVERLOAD]

[SYSTEM OVERLOAD]

[WARNING: SYSTEM OVERHEATING]

[INITIATING AUTOMATIC SYSTEM SHUT DOWN]

[ERROR ERROR ERROR]


	4. Three New Variables

GLaDOS sat observing the commotion painted on the screen before Her. She watched as Wheatley squirmed and writhed, scratching at whatever manifestations he believed to plague his body. His screams were sweet and delicious, like music to her ears. Such delightful fear and pain was eye candy. Once he had blacked out, She waved the screen away from her.

The albino scratched Her chin in deep thought. Indeed, this was a fun little experiment. She hadn't been brought this much joy in a long time. But simply allowing him to delve into madness in his own ways wouldn't be enough. She was going to have to influence him somehow.

The AI thought and thought until finally She came up with a solution. She would bring other androids into contact with him. Perhaps it would prove amusing to see his reactions to other androids. And she knew just the three for the job.

Retrieving the first would relatively easy. The second a cinch. The third may be a bit tricky, but with Her unwavering intelligence She would be able to manage.

GLaDOS took a last minute's peek at the android's unconscious body. This was an even sweeter victory than she had imagined.


	5. New Elements

[SYSTEM REBOOT]

[START UP INITIATED IN 1...2...3]

…

…...

…...

Wheatley awoke slowly, his visual sensors crackling into focus. Things were somewhat hazy for him. But perhaps it was just from the attack he had been under before the sweet release of consciousness had taken over.

The android jolted up suddenly, remembering what he had been through just before he blacked out. He whipped his head around, taking in every inch of the room. Miraculously, the spiders had gone. Not a single trace of them left anywhere. He pulled up his sleeves and pants legs to find his makeshift skin completely untouched.

He continued to sit there for a moment, studying himself for any possible bite marks until he was satisfied. Wheatley crawled over to the weighted storage cube and pushed it aside. He was uncertain of what nightmarish visions would be waiting for him on the other side, but he could no longer keep to this confined space.

Cautiously he emerged from his hiding place, taking extra care to watch for any possible dangers. Once he was convinced he was relatively safe, Wheatley stood up straight and began to walk down the corridor. He was relieved to find that the vines of black which had previously chased him were no more. Whether they had succumbed to death or simply retracted was unknown but so long as they were gone it didn't matter.

"Oh good, you're awake." A voice boomed. Wheatley jumped at the unexpected noise. A shiver ran down his metallic spine as the familiarity of said voice set in.

"Sh-show yourself!" Wheatley cried in a weak attempt to be brave. "Or wait, uh, better idea, don't. Please don't.".

"Don't try to be a hero, moron." GLaDOS scolded. "But anyway, I am not coming down there. However, I _am_ sending somebody down to see you.". Wheatley quivered and bit his lower lip. Who could she possibly be sending to see him? Surely not a test subject. They were all dead. Perhaps the cooperative testing unit. Or maybe she was going to send an army of turrets to murder him!

Whatever his fate would be, he could hear footsteps quickly approaching. They were heavy and clumsy, almost like stomping, really. The android felt himself quaking in fear, afraid to know what was about to happen to him. He forced himself to turn around and gasped.


	6. Variable 1

**Wheatley stumbled backwards, taken aback by what stood before him. A familiar red headed android hobbled towards him. Portions of his prosthetic skin had been forcibly torn off to reveal his interior design. He twitched and jerked with every step he took. Perhaps the most haunting piece of him were his eyes, or lack of them. Deep, dark holes took the place of his visual receptors. Sparks poured out of them non stop.**

"Oh my God..." Wheatley whispered aloud. He never thought he would see this man again. As far as he knew, the android would be long gone, forever damned to suffer within the confines of space.

"Help...help..." The android mumbled. With a bit of hesitation, Wheatley made his way over to him.

"Neil, I-" He began. Neil fidgeted, staring in the direction of the sound.

"Space friend? Is that you?" Neil asked, a hint of hope in his shaky voice. Wheatley swallowed hard.

"Y-yes, it's me." He replied. Neil's face dropped.

"Can't see..." He moaned, any hint of previous joy lost. Wheatley frowned at this. Even if the android had previously annoyed the living Hell out of him, it still hurt to see him suffering in such a way.

The brunette draped his friend's arm around his shoulder in an attempt to assist him in walking.

"Don't worry, buddy. I'm going to get us out of here and then we'll get you all fixed up." Wheatley said in a reassuring tone. The other machine only whimpered in response.

Wheatley soon found the task of dragging Neil around with him to be rather difficult. After all he was of a much larger height than him and by extension a much larger weight. It seemed the red head had given up completely on walking, either from lack of energy or otherwise.

"How are you doing?" The Brit asked. He got no response. He stopped walking for a moment and sat down. Propping up Neil beside him his vocal receptors imitated a human sigh. "Let's just rest fora moment. After all you're probably tired from uh...dying, 'n such.". Neil nodded weakly.

Suddenly Wheatley felt an odd burst of wind flowing through his hair. He looked around curiously.

'There aren't any fans around here...' he thought. This thought was cut off by a loud bang behind him. He whipped his head around and found a most peculiar sight. A companion cube sat before him. It's soft pink glow illuminated the blackness around the two of them.

Wheatley looked from left to right, pondering where it could have come from. There were no cube dispensing units nearby. Disregarding this, he shuffled towards the cube shyly. He reached out to touch it with hesitation, and then softly stroked it.

Upon touching it a woman lurched towards him. Wheatley shrieked, tripping over himself and falling on top of Neil's weak form. He sat trembling as this woman loomed over him.

Her naked body took on an anorexic shape, pale as snow. Her blonde hair was matted with dirt. Her lips curled into a disgustingly horrific smile, revealing jagged teeth.

Before he could do anything to stop it, Wheatley found himself being whipped across the room by the hands of this mysterious woman. He landed with tremendous force against the floor, grunting in pain. He locked into a fetal position, his hands clutching the area on his hip most effected by the fall.

"Mortem tuam est parta." Said the woman. Wheatley forced himself to get up, one hand still covering his hip. He turned his head to witness the woman forcibly tearing Neil in half. Rubbery skin stretched farther than Wheatley had thought to be possible. The android's inner workings sparked and whined, pieces of metal flying in all directions.

Wheatley ground his teeth as he stood up, the terrible screaming shredding his auditory receptors. Once the deed had been done, the woman looked towards the brunette, a smug grin on her face. And he booked it.

Wheatley ran as hard as his body would allow him, perhaps even faster. He couldn't remember being this terrified in his life. He looked back at his predator as she tore through the facility.

Suddenly, a wall seemingly popped out of nowhere. The android had run smack dab into the corner of it, one that was lit only by moonlight pouring in from a break in the ceiling. Small gasps and whimpers escaped his lips as he back up against the wall. He was truly trapped. Wheatley squeezed his eyes hut, awaiting the inevitable. But nothing happened.

He opened one eye, looking around but saw nobody. However, looking down at his feet he saw a sizzling pile of as, most likely the remains of his monster. For a moment he was speechless. Had he really been saved by something so simply as a moon? He wanted to say something, anything, but he couldn't choke out a word before he slumped to the floor and began to sob.


	7. She's Different

Wheatley wasn't quite sure how long he'd been sitting in that same corner. He gathered it must have been a few days at least because the sun replaced the moon every now and then but he hadn't counted how many times this occurred. All he knew was that this was currently his only safe haven.

Wheatley sat in the serenity of the moonlight. He could feel himself slowly falling apart. His internal parts moved slower and slower. Even if he hadn't moved much in the long while he sat there, his gears ground into each other in order to keep him alive.

The screens which were meant to represent his eyes became dimmer and dimmer. The eventual shut down was inevitable. And once he fell asleep, surely he would become vulnerable to the creatures lurking in the shadows of Aperture.

Wheatley jerked upward at the sound of another being drawing near. The red glow emanating from said being was all too familiar. A turret. He pulled his legs up to his chest quickly, hoping to creat somewhat of a protective covering for his core.

"G-Get away!" Wheatley squealed. The turret flinched, taken back by his outburst. It ducked behind a crate in fear of him.

"Um... hello?" it called in a hushed tone. Wheatley hesitated. This turret had done as he said. It hadn't shot him. Hadn't called him some horrid name. Hadn't tried to harm him. He furrowed his bro, contemplating this.

"...I'm different...". Wheatley looked up. The turret was shyly peeking out at him from behind the crate.

_'Oh, it must be defective.' _The android thought to himself. Perhaps it was really a harmless little thing. Relying on the hope that if it did turn out to be a violent demon seed the moon would protect him, he summoned the courage to call out to it.

"Um... I'm sorry. Can you come out please?" Wheatley asked. The turret happily obeyed, hopping out from its hiding place. It gleefully ran up to the brunette with a cute little smile plastered on its face. He stayed silent for a moment, unsure of what to do now. "So... why are you so different?" he asked. The turret wordlessly removed its hood, revealing a head bearing long, shiny, hair as black as coal. "Oh...".

The little turret drew nearer slowly. Wheatley held completely still, vibrating in fear as she reached out to touch him. Her hand rested on his forehead as she stared into his eyes deeply. She then began to caress the top of his head, the strands of brownish running smoothly through her tiny fingers. The Brit found some comfort in this. He relaxed a tad, allowing her to pet him.

"Who are you?" She asked suddenly. Her squeaky voice caused him to snap out of this trance momentarily.

"Uh... Oh, um... Wheatley. My name is Wheatley." Wheatley stammered. The turret smiled.

"I like that." She cooed.

"And how about you? Oh, wait, right, turrets don't have-".

"Prometheus."

"...What?"

"I'm Prometheus.". Wheatley paused for a moment. He was no expert on names, but as far as he knew Prometheus was not a proper name for a little girl. No, not one bit. Then again, turrets weren't meant to be named at all. She really was defective.

"Prometheus was punished by the Gods for giving the gift of knowledge to man." Prometheus told him. He wasn't sure if she was referring to herself or somebody else. "He was cast into the bowels of the Earth and pecked by birds.". Oh. She was referring to Prometheus from Greek mythology.

"Really now?" Wheatley asked. Prometheus nodded. "I was once cast into space, you know." Wheatley announced. Prometheus looked up at him with a face conveying the utmost interest.

"Really? Tell me about it!" She cried eagerly. Wheatley scratched his chin, thinking.

"Ah, well, heh, alright then. It's a bit of a long story though...".

* * *

"...Aaaaaand, that's really the whole story- you're up to speed at this point." Wheatley finished. Prometheus stared ahead, her face a mix of shock, amazement and sadness. Wheatley frowned at this.

"That was bad. You shouldn't have done that to that lady." She said. Wheatley imitated a sigh.

"Yeah, I know... But it was hardly my fault! It was Her mainframe!" He said defensively. The turret nodded, sighing herself. She turned to the taller android, putting her hands on his side. He stared down at her, uncurling his legs in confusion. Taking the chance, Prometheus crawled into his lap and laid down. She let out a satisfied sigh and closed her eyes.

"Nap time." Prometheus cooed. Wheatley felt something stirring in his chest upon this. The feeling was strange, a light, tickling sensation in his metaphorical heart. Rather than pushing her away, he felt compelled to pull her close. And that he did.

It was a funny thing, really. Having a turret asleep in his lap. Turrets weren't meant to be held in such a way. Wheatley would have expected her to turn on him and put an end to his life within an instant of meeting her but surprisingly she had remained tame. That's when it hit him. She was still alive. The moonlight had no effect on her. This made him think. All the things that had visited him since his return to the facility were evil, monstrous, horrid creatures. Even if Neil hadn't attempted to hurt him, he was unnerving anyway. But Prometheus was different. She had existed, even in the light of the moon.

Wheatley had seen messy paintings littering the walls of the facility. They spoke of insane things. Cakes being lies, exiles, etc. But one thing in particular he had seen were the words "_Where hath our savior gone". _Perhaps this was his savior. Maybe Prometheus was a second chance. A chance to prove himself worthy. Or maybe she was just another illusion. Illusion or not, there was no use dwelling on it. Wheatley found the shut down mentioned earlier was taking place. And he accepted it. But as he faded, he did something he had not in a long, long time. He smiled.


End file.
